Hudaydah residents in critical condition: UN health agency

The UN health agency has warned about the “critical” conditions of civilians in Yemen’s Hudaydah, which has been subject to a Saudi-led offensive for weeks, saying military operations in the key port city threaten over 70 percent of the population who are in need of relief aid.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that the health conditions in Hudaydah were some of “the most dire in the country” even before the assault began last month on the Red Sea port, a lifeline for the majority of Yemen’s population.

Hudaydah, the WHO said, had registered the highest incidences of suspected cholera cases - around 14 percent of those reported nationwide - with 209 suspected cases of diphtheria and 252 of measles.